Most people are unaware of the significant number of tornados that occur in Florida each year. Most of Florida's twisters, however, are waterspouts, which occur over water and are generally not destructive. Today, we had just gone inside due to stormy weather when my sister started shouting. We saw a waterspout a few hundred feet away from us, right on the beach. It was small as far as twisters go, but I've never actually seen a tornado up close before. It meandered a short distance down the beach, and then fell apart as it moved inland. I managed to snap a few pictures before it collapsed. (Click on pics to enlarge.)

My family and I stayed for a week's vacation just south of Summer Haven about a month ago. One morning, I was fortunate enough to catch five individual tornadic waterspouts in one 30-minute video. It was truly awesome.

I chase the things at home (Mississippi), and caught an F3 on tape this past spring. They're an incredible spectacle, regardless where or how they form.

Some years ago I went out on one of those gambling boats. We got in the middle of a heck of a storm - I saw 5 waterspouts in about three minutes minutes (as the boat was making tracks away from the storm).